Best teams tend to have the best place kickers

IT beggars belief that Gloucester mustered four tries at the Waspies and did not win.

The two points that were earned were very good indeed, but place kicking, or failed place kicking, is still a vital part of the game.

However much the modern game wants to crank up the pace, fitness and skill levels, the best teams tend to have the best place kickers.

This is a basic truth that will always hold true, even though the game has developed out of sight.

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Saracens have their brand spanking new playing surface and very impressive it is.

There is no doubt that the handling skills will be far better on a pitch that is never muddy, so the spectacle will become even more thrilling.

But every silver lining has a cloud.

Rolling out the magic carpet will allow speedsters to fly even faster – unfortunately the same surface will afford defenders the same luxury.

The collisions will automatically make us shudder that bit more.

I hope this is not a head-in-the-sand old buffer's view.

There must be concerns for player welfare if the game's confrontation aspects continue to increase.

We are producing ever-faster units without improving safety factors.

If players were F1 cars the authorities would develop far more stringent safety factors to offset the extra mph.

The only logical result is bigger and more spectacular confrontation, with might always right, and increasingly shortened playing careers.

Worcester will need all their Warrior instincts to survive tonight.

But the visitors will be buoyed by Gloucester's Sunday-Friday preparation schedule after defeat at Wasps.

Were such a schedule forced on Manchester United, old Fergie would go up in smoke – or at least the stuff would billow from his ears.

The difference is just one day, but sometimes it can prove pivotal.

Wasps was a television demand, sadly, and has nothing to do with the game's playing side.

Paying the piper and calling the tune will continue to spring to mind, though, not least because the clubs need those television cheques.

The Cherry and Whites should prevail, but a good start will be essential.

Visitors should not be made too welcome or they might get to like the place – and that would never do!